Thanks to the pirate gang for this weeks enewsletter. Enjoy the following sampling and best of DX!

Gayle VH

Grasscutter and Sunshine Radio (grasscutterradio@yahoo.com) 6925 AM 1659-1729 11/24/07 SIO=444. Prgm of Beatles and otherrock mx, w/ID's both by OM Grasscutter and YL Sunshine duringthe bcst. Good signal at first, but faded out by 1729. Gavegrasscutterradio@yahoo.com for repts. (Zeller-OH)

Old Turkey Radio 6925U 11/24 2052-2115. Started with a turkey gooble right afterGrasscutter and Sunshine show. Had a turkey rap song with an old guydoing the identifications. (good Majewski CT)

WBNY, Radio Bunny 6925u 11/25/7 17:49 sio333, lots of monkey-related sounds, thenthe Commander hawking t-shirts for Christmas, "secret message" forthe monkeys in the audience, a little too noisy to make out, sendQSL request with secret message, get a special QSL package. (Fansome PA) 6925U 2203-2215 11/24/97 SIO=242. A mix of ads for the CommanderBunny-Kracker ticket that is running for President, and also instructionsfor monkeys in the audience. Some recorded Allan Weiner remarks from WBCQ,incl criticism of Bush. No addr hrd on this bcst, but they use Belfast.(Zeller-OH)

WMPR 6955a 11/25/7 15:49 sio222, sounds kind of like a show tune, notthe usual techno/dance, tortured puppy id at 15:54, now back to moretecno-like music at 16:00 (Fansome PA)

Gerry Jackson, Station Manager of SW Radio Africa*, writes concerning today’s Al Jazeera report on the ‘million man march’ in Harare, in support of Robert Mugabe:

“Their correspondent, Supa Mandiwanzira, is a known supporter of the ruling party and also provides reports to the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation.

“He does not mention that thousands of people were bussed into the capital from the rural areas either by force or - in the case of those who received farm equipment from the Reserve Bank - were told to join the march or lose this equipment. Throughout Friday morning soldiers and police went around high density residential areas, forcing people out of their homes to march. Those who refused were beaten.

“Our correspondent was badly beaten and had his camera taken by police when he tried to photograph the marchers (the authorities do not know that he works for us).

“We are concerned about the accuracy of the reports on Zimbabwe that are emanating from Al Jazeera, particularly as they are the ‘only international news network allowed to report from Zimbabwe.’”

Israel’s Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog announced on Wednesday that plans were already under way to expand broadcasting hours for the Israel Broadcasting Authority’s Amharic-language radio show despite recent cutbacks to the national broadcasting body.

Speaking at the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women, which was discussing domestic violence in the Ethiopian community, Herzog said that as minister responsible for the financially strapped IBA he had already met with Israel radio chief Yoni Ben-Menachem to discuss a joint venture that would expand the hours of the Amharic-language broadcast. Funding for such a project would most likely come from the Ministry of Welfare and Social Services, said a spokeswoman for Herzog.

Herzog said he believed that the radio station was an essential tool to help ease some of the Ethiopian community’s social problems and assist them in the absorption process. According to Tsega Melaku, Director of the Amharic and Tigrnga Service, 90 percent of the Ethiopian immigrant community listens to the two hours of radio that are broadcast daily at lunchtime and in the evenings.

“Most of the community does not have access to newspapers or television,” she said, highlighting the large number of immigrants that are illiterate and rely on her service for vital information. “We do not only broadcast news but also act as a guide for new immigrants regarding all areas of their new life,” said Melaku. (Source: Jerusalem Post/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

New technology will help the ABC bring local coverage directly to communities affected by natural disasters like floods and cyclones. Three fly-in transmitters have been purchased to allow local ABC stations to set up shop anywhere in Australia. The units were originally designed for the United States military to use in the Iraq war.

Mark Spurway, the head of Transmission Services with the ABC, says the transmitters will ensure affected communities are kept informed. “Its function is basically to look at flying it in once there’s been a disaster declared or we need to get additional information out to smaller based communities,” he says.

“These units are designed to be set up within an hour, as long as you’ve got access to a small generator or mains power, mainly a small generator, I think, in the case of following in a cyclone’s path. You can get it up and running and then you can start broadcasting.”(Source: ABC Rural/R Netherlands media Network Weblog)

It runs to 13 mins 49 secs, containing lots of professionally researched and sourced shortwave updated schedules, news, and monitoring data, unavailable in the public domain. It includes a special Spectrum Occupancy and Propagation Report.

If you would like to contribute news or monitoring notes for inclusion in the magazine, please send this information to me at bobpadula@mydesk.net.auRegards from Melbourne, Australia!Bob Padula

Navy (7-4), coming off a 35-24 victory over Northern Illinois that clinched a fifth-straight winning season, will play host to Army (3-8) at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium (70,008) in the 108th playing of the Army-Navy game, the greatest rivalry in all of sports, on Saturday, Dec. 1. The game is sold out. The 108thy Army-Navy Football Game is supported by Silver Partners AT&T, Lockheed Martin, USAA, the US Army and the US Navy.

CBS will televise the game nationally starting at 12 noon with Ian Eagle and Boomer Esiason calling the game, while Sam Ryan will handle the sideline duties. CBS Radio/Westwood One will broadcast the game nationally with Kevin Kugler and Terry Bowden calling the action.

WJZ-TV in Baltimore (Channel 13) will air a three-hour pregame show starting at 9 a.m. which will include live coverage of both march-ons.

Bob Socci, Omar Nelson and John Feinstein will call the game on the Navy Radio Network, which includes WBAL in Baltimore (1090 AM), WNAV in Annapolis (1430 AM), 3WT in Washington, DC (1500 AM), WFED in Northern Virginia (1050 AM), WTRI in Frederick (1520 AM), The Game in Virginia Beach, Va. (102.1 FM) and Hampton Roads, Va. (1490 AM) and Sirius Satellite Radio (Channel TBA). The game will also be streamed live on Navy All-Access, as well as on the web sites of the various stations carrying the game. The pregame show will air at 11 a.m.

Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller will host the Navy Tailgate Show on 1430 WNAV starting at 10 a.m.

The march-on of the Corps of Cadets will take place at 9:35 a.m., while the Brigade of Midshipmen will march on at 10:05 a.m.

Saturday's Navy fly-by will feature four Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornets from the "Kestrels" of Strike Fighter Squadron 137, based at Naval Air Station in Lemoore, California. Piloting the lead aircraft is Lt. Cmdr. Dave "Frosty" Snowden, USNA Class of 1996. The slot aircraft will be piloted by Lt. Colin "Farva" Price, USNA Class of 2001. The right echelon aircraft was piloted by Lt. Rebekah "Charlie" Murphy, USNA Class of 2002, and the left echelon aircraft was piloted by Lt. Jason "Doofus" Duffie, USNA Class of 2002. The Kestrels completed a WESTPAC deployment in August 2006, and are currently nearing the end of their work-up cycle in preparation for deployment onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln CVN-72 in early 2008.

At the recently-concluded World Radiocommunication Conference, the ITU decided to include Azerbaijan in the European Broadcasting Area. According to the Azerbaijani Communications and IT Ministry, this means that in the future all European countries will co-ordinate the technical aspects of broadcasting with Azerbaijan, and it will be easy to solve technical issues. (Source: Trend News Agency/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) has reached an agreement with US network Time Warner Cable to carry KBS World - its international television channel. The agreement will enable KBS World to potentially reach an audience of two million people in 216 cities in southern California beginning 1 December 2007.

KBS World will now be available to 20 million people across the United States, including local audiences already watching KBS World via Dish Network.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The following logs are a sampling of those included in the enewsletter DX Window. Thanks to Anker Petersen and the large group of dedicated DXers.

Gayle H

All times UTC

Bolivia3390.2, Emisoras Camargo, Camargo, 2330-0040, 15, 19 and 23, seems on a regular schedule/or being received each night at this location, romantic songs, ann in Spanish, SINPO 24222. (Slaen and Wilkner)

5990, Radio Senado, Brasilia, DF, 0955-1000, Portuguese comments. Mentions the word "... en Brazilia ..." a few times. On the hour, canned ID. Signal was poor to fair depending on the splatter on the freqency. (Bolland)

Text of press release by London-based Digital Radio Mondiale on 27 November

Geneva, Switzerland: The ITU is the United Nations organization for coordination of the use of the radio spectrum. Every four years it conducts a thorough review and modification of the regulations for the use of the radio spectrum, including broadcasting use.

Since 2002, Digital Radio Mondiale’s (DRM) system has been endorsed by the ITU for broadcasting over the world in the longwave, mediumwave and shortwave frequencies, with the exception of the “tropical zone” bands. The tropical zone bands are the frequencies near the lower end of the shortwave spectrum that are reserved for domestic (national) broadcasting.

It includes countries located roughly in latitudes between 30 degrees north and south like Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Congo, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, and many others countries are concerned.

At the last World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) of the ITU in Geneva, the conference officially approved DRM system in the broadcasting bands between 3200 and 5900 kHz for domestic coverage in the “tropical zone” countries. This major regulatory achievement opens up a huge market for the benefit of the citizens from this part of the world.

The DRM consortium is very pleased with this outcome that “the recognition of the DRM system is now totally worldwide for all digital radio applications of various types around the world in the traditional broadcasting bands below 30 MHz - longwave, mediumwave and shortwave”said Dr H Donald Messer, DRM representative at WRC.

Moreover, the DRM consortium has developed an adaptation of its system to the VHF bands I and II (the “old TV” and “FM” bands, respectively). It is currently being field tested and is in the final part of the standardization process. When completed in the near future, the DRM system will be available for worldwide use in all the terrestrial broadcasting bands up to and including the “FM” band. Coverage can range from less than 100 sq km using very low power levels, to well over 1m sq km using powers approaching 100 kW.

Sri Lanka’s military air strike on the rebel Voice of Tiger radio station in the island’s north that killed 11 people violated international law, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said today. Sri Lankan warplanes yesterday dropped 12 bombs and virtually flattened the radio station, killing 11 and injuring 15, just moments before it was due to broadcast rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s annual address.

“Voice of Tigers is a propaganda radio operated by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), but the rules of war are clear - military bombardment and bombing must be limited to strictly military targets,” the Paris-based media rights organisation said in a statement.

LTTE spokesman Rasiah Ilantheriyan told AFP that the rebels managed to broadcast the pre-recorded speech to the north and to Tamils overseas - who are a key funding source - using “alternative arrangements.”

Government officials declined to comment on the RSF statement. International media rights activists have described Sri Lanka as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to work due to a worsening climate of violence and censorship.(Source: AFP/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty yesterday inaugurated a one-hour weekly show on Georgian Public Television (GPB) which introduces to the young generation forgotten or undiscovered cultural figures and political themes of Georgia’s Soviet communist past.

RFE/RL Georgian Service Director David Kakabadze says “it is of paramount importance for Georgians to examine and come to terms with their past and reconnect with a rich and almost lost, cultural heritage. That is what ‘The Red Zone’ series aims to achieve.” The first programme was about “Enemy Voices (Vracheskiye Golosa),” the Soviet era label for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and other foreign broadcasters.

Inspired by an RFE/RL Georgian Service radio programme, “The Red Zone” is the second such programme to move to local television. It follows RFE/RL’s “Tea and Liberty,” a Sunday talk show launched in April 2006 on privately-owned Imedi Television, Georgia’s most popular television network.(Source: RFE/RL/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The head of BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC.UL], said on Tuesday the business has underestimated how much money it could make from the Internet.

BBC Worldwide Chief Executive John Smith said the business initially aimed to get at least 10 percent of its total revenues from the Internet, but has now realised this target is too low.

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 49 ARLP049From Tad Cook, K7RASeattle, WANovember 26, 2007To all radio amateursSB PROP ARL ARLP049ARLP049 Propagation de K7RA This is an off-schedule post-Thanksgiving bulletin. Because ARRLheadquarters was closed on Friday, the day this bulletin is normallyreleased, and the last Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP048 waswritten before the end of our reporting week (which is Thursdaythrough Wednesday), the sunspot, solar flux and geophysical numbersnormally at the end of the bulletin are in this bulletin, but werenot a part of ARLP048. Friday, November 30 will find us back on theregular schedule with Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP050.

The last propagation bulletin reported a brief return of sunspots onNovember 16-17, when sunspot group 974 emerged, and the sunspotnumber was 13 on both days. There were six more days of no spots,then November 24 saw the emergence of group 975, with a sunspotnumber of 15. The next day the sunspot number declined to 12, andthe area it covered was about half the area on the previous day.

A solar wind stream on November 20 caused the most active recentgeomagnetic day, with the planetary A index rising to 28, andAlaska's high-latitude college A index going to 48. Geomagneticindices were somewhat unsettled over the last weekend (November24-25), but are quieting down now, with the expected planetary Aindex at 10 for today, November 26, and then 5 until December 11.The planetary A index over November 22-25 was 13, 10, 12, and 11.The numbers for the seven days previous to that are listed below.

Unexpected bottom-of-the-cycle propagation still crops up. OnNovember 21, a number of Northeast United States stations reportedworking Central and South America on 10 meters. W1RM workedMozambique on 12 meters and Ecuador on 10 meters.

In Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP047 on November 16 we mentionedbriefly some unusual daylight DX on 75 meters. Note that most ofthese stations had what many of us would consider monsterdirectional antenna arrays for 75 meters, such as 2-3 element Yagisanywhere from 100-165 feet.

If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers,email the author at, k7ra@arrl.net.

Solar activity was very low. New Region 975 (N02, L=103, class/area, Bxo/020 on 25 November) formed on the solar disk on the 24th.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at high levels on the 19, 22, and 24 - 25 November.

The geomagnetic field was at quiet to major storm levels on 19 - 20 November. Activity decreased to quiet to active levels through the remainder of the period. ACE solar wind measurements indicated a recurrent co-rotating interaction region (CIR) late on 19 Novemberin advance of a coronal hole high speed stream which arrived late on 20 November. During the CIR, the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) Bt peaked at 20 nT (20/1122 UTC), with a variable Bz of +10 nT to -17 nT. Wind velocities increased to a maximum of 702 km/sec(21/0920 UTC) during the coronal hole high speed stream. Wind speed gradually declined until mid day on 22 November when another coronal hole high speed stream was detected at ACE.

Maximum wind speed values are uncertain due to a gap in data acquisition (22/2138 -23/0654 UTC). Wind speed before and after the gap was in the 620 - 630 km/s range. Bt reached at peak of 11 nT (22/1657 UTC), and Bz ranged from +9 nT to -8 nT. Wind speed again declined until mid day on 24 November, when yet another coronal hole high speed streambecame geoeffective. The maximum speed for this stream was uncertain due to another data acquisition gap (24/2137 - 25/0031 UTC), however, the wind speed after the gap was at approximately 640 km/s.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity28 November - 24 December 2007

Solar activity is expected to be very low.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels during 01, 16, and 18 - 24 December.

Activity is expected to be at predominantly quiet levels 28 November - 16 December. Geomagnetic activity may increase to quiet to unsettled conditions on 11 - 13 December. Activity is expected to increase to active to minor storm levels on 17 - 18 December as acoronal hole high speed stream becomes geoeffective. From 19 - 23 December, activity should be unsettled to active due to a series of coronal hole high speed streams. Activity should decline to mostly quiet levels on 24 December.

"Air force jets bombed an LTTE satellite communications and coordinating center in [the] Dharampuram area northeast of Kilinochchi on Sunday morning," said a spokesman at the Media Center for National Security, adding that details of casualties were not immediately available.

The Sri Lanka Army says its Air Force was able to completely destroy the clandestine LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) radio station at Thiruviyar, Kilinochchi, this evening at about 4.30 pm local time. A news report on the Sri Lanka Army website says:“The clandestine terrorist radio, dubbed as Voice of Tigers, has been selling fabricated and totally false stories to the local community as well as to their sympathetic foreign agents for the last twenty years luring thousands of young Tamils into their fighting machine. Tuesday’s aerial attack totally crippled their radio transmissions and all other transmission of terrorist messages. Air Force sorties on specific target information carried out this successful air attack with the help of Mig and Kfir jets.”(Source: Sri Lanka Army/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

The Liberation of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, Tamil), is a militant Tamil nationalist organizationthat has waged a violet secessionist campaign against the Sri Lankan government since the1970's to createa seperate Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

On the eve of Annapolis, Global Crisis Watch discusses the upcoming Middle East conference, the power vaccuum in Lebanon, indications of success in Iraq, Nawaz Sharif's return to Pakistan, and the ongiong terror investigations in the Maldives. Guests: Nir Boms, Center for Freedom in the Middle East in Chicago, Bill Roggio, LongWarJournal.org in New Jersey, and Ajay Makan, Minivan News in Male', the Maldives.

Global Crisis Watch (GCW) is a groundbreaking and eclectic counterterrorism and national security podcast that takes listeners to the front lines of the long war and into the back rooms of the intelligence community. Hosted by Nick Grace and Sasha Eckstein in Washington, DC, GCW features discussions with newsmakers, analysts, journalists and activists across the world - from Aceh to Mogadishu.(Source: Nick Grace)

Listeners in Trinidad and Tobago can enjoy for the first time the BBC’s internationally famous radio programmes 24-hours a day, seven days a week with the launch of BBC 98.7 FM. Audiences across both islands now have access to a wider mixture of BBC programmes including some tailored specifically for the Caribbean.

Debbie Ransome, Head of BBC Caribbean, said: “This is our third 24-hour BBC radio station in the Caribbean and our first in Trinidad and Tobago. I am delighted that more of our listeners can hear, for the first time, the full range of BBC programmes in FM quality.”

BBC programmes can also be heard on two BBC FM relays in the Caribbean, BBC 89.1 FM in Antigua and BBC 104 FM in Jamaica.(Source: BBC World Service Publicity/R Netherlands Media Network)

Shortwave radio monitors have confirmed that VOA broadcasts to Ethiopia in the Amharic and Afan Oromo languages have been jammed for the past two weeks. VOA correspondent in Addis Ababa, Peter Heinlein, reports Ethiopia’s government denies responsibility for the interference.

Listeners to VOA’s Amharic Service began complaining about 12 November that they could not hear the one-hour nightly broadcast. Amharic is the language of commerce and the main official language in Ethiopia. In recent days, the reports from listeners and monitors confirmed that all five shortwave frequencies used by VOA are being jammed. Broadcasts by the other major western broadcaster in Amharic, Germany’s Deutsche Welle, have also been blocked.

The BBC Monitoring service says its experts have determined that the direction from which the jamming originates indicates the signals are being transmitted from within Ethiopia.

In a telephone interview with VOA, Ethiopia’s information ministry spokesman Zemedkun Tekle says he doubts the government is involved in jamming. “I do not think this one is true. Of course I have seen the media reporting saying that, but we do not need, the government does not need to waste its time on doing so,” he said. “I myself have not come across audiences who are saying so, but the relevant body may speak on the details, but I do not think this story is true.”

The two Amharic Service broadcasts are known to have a substantial audience in the Ethiopian capital, which is a hotbed of anti-government sentiment. Monitors also report jamming of VOA’s Oromo Service, which broadcasts on the same frequencies. Oromo is the language spoken by Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group.

Ethiopia is known to be blocking broadcasts from its neighbour and rival, Eritrea. Monitors report the jamming has intensified in recent weeks, as tensions have risen along their disputed border. A status report issued by the umbrella organization that oversees Voice of America, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, says VOA broadcasts to Ethiopia have previously been jammed during civil unrest in 2005, but the jamming was stopped in mid-2006.(Source: VOA News.com website, Washington DC, in English 26 Nov 07 via BBC Monitoring/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

“You are in the remarkable position of writing the media history of your own country,” said Tarja Virtanen, UNESCO Representative to Kyrgyzstan, speaking to the staff collective of Radiomost on the final day of a UNESCO-sponsored training workshop on community radio, reports UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty.

The first radio service of its kind in Central Asia, Radiomost is located in Talas, a relatively remote mountain valley in northwest Kyrgyzstan. The station has been broadcasting since July 2007.

The week-long workshop, led by a leading community radio expert Ian Pringle (Canada) with the station’s adviser Bettina Ruigies as his co-trainer, ended 15 November 2007 on a positive note with participants ready to tackle the challenges of being the region’s first community station with increased knowledge and confidence.

“I learned a lot about what community radio means and how we can implement it here in Talas,” said Nazira, a local broadcast journalist who runs radio programmes on local cultural programming and legal issues.

The name Radiomost, literally ‘Radiobridge’ in Russian, the lingua franca of the region, is a reference to the station’s aim to bridge the local information gap and to promote dialogue and mutual understanding. Radiomost has also given itself a mandate to promote positive messages and new ideas, ambitions clearly embodied in its young, dynamic team of broadcasters and organizers.

The UNESCO workshop focused on how principles of community radio like access and participation can be best realized in Talas, a remote area with a sparse local media landscape, a small economy and high unemployment.

Over the course of a week, the station’s staff collective, mostly students, charted a judicious course for Radiomost, including a set of basic principles, the outline of a strategic plan and policies concerning music and advertising. “A major achievement for the collective was the drafting of a code of practice and policy for programming during elections, which will take place in Kyrgyzstan in one month”, the station’s co-ordinator and one of its founding members Gulmira Osmonova concluded.(Source: Gazeta.kz/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Monday, November 26, 2007

The X FactorNovember 16, 2007For over 50 years, outlaw American radio broadcasters exploited a legal loophole and aired powerful pirate radio from the Mexican side of the border. So called ‘border blasters’ - or ‘X stations’ - were true innovators whose influence continues to be felt today. OTM’s Jamie York tells the story.

Radio history, like so much of our popular culture history, has been destroyed far more often than it's been preserved.

That makes the Pacifica Radio Archives particularly valuable, and the five Pacifica stations, including WBAI (99.5 FM), will spend Tuesday broadcasting a small, rich sample of the 50,000-tape archive.

Yes, since it's Pacifica, it will be history as told by alternative and sometimes unpopular voices, like the Black Panthers. And yes, the 19-hour broadcast, 4 a.m.-9 p.m., will be yet another in WBAI's seemingly endless round of fund-raisers, because broadcasting alternative voices means getting minimal support from traditional sources.

But one of the things that's striking about the sixth annual Archives special is how many of the voices that seemed radical and even threatening a few years ago now sound as if they are only asking for what's fair and just.

Sierra Leone’s Information Minister, IB Kargbo, gave an update at his weekly press conference on the privatisation of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS). The Minister reminded journalists that efforts to privatize SLBS started in 2003 when some of Sierra Leone’s development partners advised that SLBS should be privatized.

The Information Minister insisted, “but a lot of feet dragging stood in the way of progress in that direction and right now, I am piloting a bill through parliament which will finally ensure that SLBS becomes a corporation instead of a government entity.”

He further revealed that there are competent Sierra Leoneans to mann the activities of the national broadcaster to make it a viable institution capable of disseminating information countrywide.

In that light, I B Kargbo revealed that a company that was engaged in upgrading SLBS some years ago has returned to the country to revitalize the national broadcaster and also improve on the television station. The Minister promised to champion the privatization bill at all levels from Cabinet to Parliament and then back to the executive for approval to fast-track the process.

He appealed to workers, both in the radio and television stations, to prepare themselves, through discipline and hard work, to take over the challenging responsibilities of a corporate SLBS.(Source: The New Citizen/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

The people of Limpopo today woke up to the fresh sounds of the South African region’s first black commercial radio station. Six months after receiving its commercial broadcast licence, Capricorn FM began broadcasting from its state-of-the-art studios in Bendor, Polokwane.

The station will broadcast 70% in English and 30% vernacular, incorporating the three dominant ethnic groups in the province (tshiVenda, sePedi, xiTsonga). Capricorn FM will broadcast 24 hours throughout Limpopo with five transmitters that will cover these main towns and areas surrounding them:

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Andrew Flynn of Christian Vision writes: ”CVC will have a special transmission on air 0800-1500 UTC on 11995kHz, on 27 November, targeting Kiev from Wertachtal. Reports and comments welcome as always.”

CVC will also be making a special DRM transmission to Ecuador as follows:

Station: - Radio Free AsiaFrequency: - 15690 kHz (IBB Sri Lanka)Time: - 0030-0100 UTCLanguage: - LaoDescription: - 11 years of broadcasting excellence September 29 1996-2007. This card commemorates RFA's 11th anniversary of its first broadcast which took place on September 29, 1996; our first broadcast was in Mandarin Chinese. This QSL is issued for all confirmed reception reports from September - December 2007. Please continue to submit your reception reports to www.rfa.org/schedules or by e-mail to qsl@rfa.org .

Station: - Radio PrahaFrequency: - 11600 kHzTime: - 0330 UTCLanguage: - EnglishDescription: - Praded. Located in the Maravia-Silesia region on the peak of Praded mountain at a height of 1491 m. Previously a stone observation tower stood on this spot. In the 1980s a 162-m television transmitter was built here.

Station: - Radio Canada InternationalFrequency: - 11675 kHz (via Kunming relay, China)Time: - 1500-1557 UTCLanguage: - EnglishDescription: - Maple Leaf Mailbag Special QSL verified by Bill Westenhaver. 60 Years of Radio Worldwide! Radio Canada International is proud to offer its loyal listeners a series of exclusive QSL cards to mark its 60th anniversary. For 60 years, RCI has been bringing you rich, diverse radio that today include over 300 hours of programming each week. Tune in weekly to IanJohns and his Maple Leaf Mailbag team on shortwave, satellite or http://www.rcinet.ca/

Station: - KBS World RadioFrequency: - 9515 kHzTime: - 1600-1700 UTCLanguage: - EnglishDescription: - The Seongsan Sunrise Peak. Jeju's volcanic islands and lava tubes have been added to the World Natural Heritage list by UNESCO. It bears great significance in that it's the first time for a natural site in Korea to be registered on the list. The Jeju heritage site consists of Mt Halla, the Seongsan Sunrise Peak, and the island's lava tubes. UNESCO's list of world heritage sites is comprised of location that are deemed to have outstanding value to allmankind. The picture shows the Seongsan Sunrise Peak and Mt Halla on Jeju Island.

Station: - HCJB Global AustraliaFrequency:- 15425 kHz (Transmitting from Kununurra in the northwest of Australia)Time: - 1130-1200 UTCLanguage:- EnglishDescription: - e-QSL. Kapok Flower. The kapok tree grows in the kimberleys and flowers in the dry season , at the end of the dry season it produces seed pods, which were used as filling for mattresses.(Source: Mukesh Kumar, India)

6130 National Radio Vientiane observed s/on 2156 with sung anthem (pres.) and announcements including frequencies, off at 2322; at 0008 on again and observed to 0430, then 0745-1530 s/off, but possibly continuous; local station level here. (Gerhard Werdin-THA, touring in and around Chiang May in NoThailand, wwdxc BC-DX Nov 24)

Program consits of occ word program, but largely of Burmese adaptations of western pop and country music, e.g. ABBA's "Super Trooper" or "The Young Ones" (was it Paul Anka ?)

During periods of silence simetimes SSB traffic observed. Local station level here.

5985 National Radio; observed transmission times 0030-0130 and 0900/0930-1530+, on 21.11. with English program at 1522.

7185 National Radio; on 24.11. at 0210 observed with English pop music, at 0230 English news, e.g. on ASEAN summit in Singapore, where "ASEAN leaders ko-towed again to the Burmese Junta" (quote Bangkok Post).

At 0240 Western rap music (no Burmese adaptations) with two canned announcements in between, one saying a.o. "BBC lying, VOA deceiving", the other denouncing protesters as "criminals and opportunists", at 0259 end of program announcement in English and Burmese, 0300 silent.

9730 National Radio; on 24.11. at 0730 no English program observed as per schedule, txm silent. (Gerhard Werdin-THA, touring in and around Chiang May in NoThailand, wwdxc BC-DX Nov 24)

Singapore

I stand corrected with announcement on 6150 kHz being "Nine-three-eight Live", which I always understood as "Ninety eight Live"; I checked the Mediacorp website ... (Gerhard Werdin-THA, touring in and around Chiang May in NoThailand, wwdxc BC-DX Nov 24)

Cheap digital storage space has revolutionized the way we DXers can save, organize and access our recordings and QSL collection. Creating a digital DX archive however requires many decisions concerning formats and file names, with long lasting consequences. This article explains the many mistakes I have made, and how I have tried to resolve practicalproblems related to going digital.

E4 - Mike/OM2DX, Steve/OM3JW, Rudi/OM3PC and Miro/OM5RW will be active as E4/OM2DX from Palestine on 14-22 December. They plan to operate CW, SSB and RTTY on 160-10 metres with two stations. QSL via OM3JW. On-line log and other information will be available at http://www.om2dx.com/ [TNX OM3JW]

F - A number of special stations will be activated for the 21st annual Telethon, the fund-raising event organized by the French Muscular Dystrophy Association that will take place on 7-8 December. Expect activity from TM8T (26 November-9 December) and TM4AFM (8-9 December) among the others. [TNX F8REF]

FK - Sam, FK8DD reports he will participate in the CQ WW DX CW Contest as TX3SAM. He will be running 85 watts from the Maritime Communication Center of Noumearadio/FJP, New Caledonia. QSL via LZ1JZ.

HS - Special event callsign HS80A will be aired all day on 1 December (local time) to celebrate the 80th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej (HS1A). [TNX HS0ZCW]

LU - The Radio Club Ushuaia (LU8XW) will be active as AY7X from Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (SA-008) from 30 November to 2 December. They plan to operate CW, SSB, PSK and RTTY on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metres. QSL via WD9EWK. [TNX K1XN]

OA - Jorge/OA4BHY, Daniel/DL5YWM, Rene/DL2JRM and Bodo/DL3OCH will be operate CW and SSB from two rare IOTA groups between late December and early January:28-30 December OC6I Isla Blanca SA-098 02-07 January OC1I Isla Lobos de Tierra SA-076On 8-12 January (possibly also on 26-27 December) OA4/DL5YWM, OA4/DL3OCH, OA4/DL2JRM will operate from OA4O, the Radioclub Peruano's club station in Lima. They plan to be active on the HF bands and - for the first time from Peru - on 23cm EME. QSL OC6I and OC1I via DL5WM (direct or bureau), others via home call. Please note that the postagefrom Germany to Europe is EUR 0.70 (USD 1.10), for destinations outside Europe it is 1.70 EUR (USD 2.60). Further infromation, including log-search and how to get a sked on EME, can be foud at either http://www.qslnet.de/oc1i and http://www.qslnet.de/oc6i [TNX DL5YWM]

P4 - Ken, K6TA (P40TA) and Kay, K6KO (P40K) will operate from Aruba (SA-036) from 28 November to 18 December. This will include entries in the ARRL 160 Meter Contest (30 November-2 December, P40TA) and the ARRL 10 Meter Contest (8-9 December, P40K). QSL both callsigns via WM6A. Logs will be uploaded to LoTW. [TNX The Daily DX and NG3K]

VU - A number of special callsigns (AU1JCB, AU2JCB, AU4JCB, AU7JCB, AU8JCB, AU9JCB and AT0JCB) will be aired on SSB and CW from 25 November to 2 December to celebrate the birthdate of Indian physicist of Jagadish Chandra Bose. QSL via VU2SMN (direct only). Further information at http://au9jcb.angelfire.com/ [TNX The Daily DX]

XF4 - Pepe, XE1J reports that the XF4 operators landed on Clarion Island (NA-115) around 5 UTC on 21 November. The trip between the Navy ship and the beach was very difficult, and the team lost several runs of coax. They had to fight against the wind and the darkness, but eventually, around 1 a.m. local time (6 UTC), they were able to install one antenna. However, after several CQs and no QSOs, the Mexican Navy ordered the operators back to the ship. The team now expects to reach Socorro Island (NA-030) around 15 UTC on 24 November. Another attempt at operating from Clarion might be possibile when the next ship makes the same trip to supply food and fuel to the islands. Bookmark http://www.6e4lm.xedx.org/ for updates. [TNX XE2K]

YB - Adhi, YB3MM expected to depart on 22 November for KarimunjawaIsland (OC-186), where he will be active during the CQ WW DX CW Contest. QSL via IZ8CCW. [TNX IZ8CCW]

Midway Island - Pete Leary, KC0END is currently working on Midway (but he is not active on the amateur radio bands) and reports that "there are plans in the works to get a ham group out here next summer or fall if it gets approved". A couple of groups "are already on thewaiting list to get out here", but, "since this is a national monument and wildlife refuge, a compatibility study has to be done to determine the effect on birds". Read the details athttp://hamspirit.wordpress.com/ [TNX MM0NDX]

OH CONTEST/DX MEETING ---> The 13th annual Contest & DX Meeting, organized by the Contest Club Finland and the OH DX Foundation, will be held aboard the Viking Line M/S Gabriella on 18-20 January 2008. The ship will travel from Finland to the Aland Islands to Sweden and back. Further information, prices and on-line registration form are availableat http://www.contestclubfinland.com/ (bookings should be made no later than 28 December). [TNX OH2IW](Source: 425 DX News -DX Information via Dave Raycroft)

General Baduel declares to VOA his belief 'in democracy as it is decreed in our constitution.'Washington, D.C., November 23, 2007 - In an exclusive interview, Venezuelan General Raul Isaias Baduel told the Voice of America (VOA) yesterday that the Venezuelan people will vote against the upcoming Constitutional referendum on December 2.

Breaking with Hugo Chavez, his former boss and political ally, he stated, "In Venezuela the people will vote 'no' massively to the referendum."

General Baduel, retired Minister of Defense, declared, "I am a fervent believer in democracy because that is the greatest will of the Venezuelan people. I believe in democracy as it is decreed in our constitution."

Excerpts from the interview aired today on the VOA Noticias television program and on VOA radio. The full interview will be broadcast several times over the weekend. The interview will be posted on VOA?s Spanish-language website: www.VOANoticias.com .

VOA Noticias is a 22-minute live newscast from Washington Monday through Friday, covering news developments in Latin America and the world, along with reports from Washington, D.C. and the United States. On weekends, it provides a news summary of the top stories and highlights of the week. VOA Noticias airs at 2100 UTC (5:00 p.m. EDT), and repeats at 2130 UTC (5:30 p.m. EDT).

The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 115 million people. Programs are produced in 45 languages.

For more information, please call the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 203-4959, or e-mail publicaffairs@voa.gov .(Source: VOA)

Thanks to Arnaldo Slaen, Brian Alexander, Ron Howard and Peter Ng for the following logging contributions. Have you sent yours in yet?Gayle VH

All times UTC // parallel frequencies *sign-on sing-off*

Ascencion Island9525, Star Radio, via Ascension, *0700-0730, Nov 23, Sign on with ID & into English news concerning Liberia. Audio somewhat muffled but good signal strength. Radio Okapi programming heard on this frequency the previous morning but now back to the normal Star Radio programming this morning. English CTN news at 0730. (Brian Alexander, PA)

AustraliaAustralia, 4910, ABC- Tennant Creek, 1028-1040 With a fair signal, noted male and female in English language news and comments and ID as "ABC". At 1035 popular music presented. So this is suppose to secure at 0830 UTC and it's still up at 1035 on Sunday morning with a fair signal? (Chuck Bolland, FL)

Burkina Faso5030, Radio Burkina, *0525-0555, Nov 22, Sign on with test tone. National Anthem at 0528. Opening French announcements at 0530 followed by local African music. French & vernacular talk. Fair but some adjacent channel splatter from Cuba 5025. University Network 5030 not on the air. (Brian Alexander, PA)

ChinaChina, 4919.92, People's Broadcasting Station, 1132-1145 At tune in, noted a female in Tibetian language comments. Sounded like news. At 1138 music heard briefly. Female back in comments at 1139. At 1140 a male joins the fun. This is parallel on 4905 KHz at this time. Both signals are equally poor, but readable. (Chuck Bolland, November 23, 2007)

Clandestine[broadcasting to North Korea], 5985, Shiokaze/Sea Breeze via Yamata, Japan, *1400-1430*, Nov 23 (Fri.), in English, open carrier on at 1359, starts with piano IS, YL with sign-on announcements, requests information about abductees, gives e-mail address, mailing address and three phone numbers (seemed to be 81356845058, etc.), OM with program "News on North Korea Issues", reading items from Japanese newspapers, IDs "This is Shiokaze Sea Breeze from Tokyo, Japan", YL with sign-off announcements, gives clear "JSR" callsign, so Yamata indeed does still use their callsign, but used only once. Some days have noted strong jamming here, but not today. Reception was fair. (Ron Howard, CA)

Ecuatorial Guinea5005, Radio Nacional-Bata, *0459-0555, Nov 22, Sign on with National Anthem. Spanish announcements at 0502. Variety of Spanish pops/ballads, orchestral music & Afro-pops.Spanish talk. Weak with low modulation. I have been checking for the 6250 transmitter but only heard one day, Nov 17. (Brian Alexander, PA)

Gabon4777, Radio Gabon, *0457-0505, Nov 24, Sign on with National Anthem. Opening French ID announcements at 0459. Local African music at 0500. French talk. Canned IDs. Good. (Brian Alexander, PA)

Indonesia9680, RRI-Jakarta, 1007-1027, Nov 25 (Sun.)in English, KGRE program #5702 presented by Sue, Maggie and Kevin, talks about the KGRE anniversary BBQ, played pop Indonesian songs, fair, light QRM (WYFR in French). Propagation this year has indeed been different. In past years when WYFR switched to this frequency, it was usually goodbye to RRI & KGRE, but not this year. Some days now it is hard to tell if WYFR is even under RRI. (Ron Howard, CA)

Kang Guru Radio English: Recently received a friendly e-mail from Sue Rodger (ELT Materials and Training Coordinator at KGRE). They have been funded by AusAID (The Australian Government' Overseas Aid Program) for 18 years now and in late October they celebrated 10 years in Bali (before that they were located in Jakarta) with an Aussie BBQ for some listeners/users teachers, club members, students, etc. At her location in Bali they have just recentl completed work on a new small, but functional recording studio. IALF Indonesia Australia Language Foundation) and KGRE moved to their present campus two and a half years ago and had always wanted to build this recording studio. They presently broadcast on over 130 RRI and private radio stations across Indonesia. (Ron Howard, CA)

6130, 1128. Laos National Radio. Talk by female announcer, followed by Laotian music/song until station interval signal played on a mouth organ. Big Ben Ben signal and station identification at 1200 by male announcer. (Peter Ng, Malaysia)

Oman15140, Radio Sultanate of Oman, 1400-1500, Nov 24, Pop music. English news at 1430-1438. Sports news at 1439. "November Achievements" program at 1445. Pop music at 1456Chimes/gongs at 1500. Very weak. Threshold signal at times, but in quiet conditions for a change. (Brian Alexander, PA)

Rwanda5975, Sudan Radio Service, via Kigali, *0300-0330*, Nov 22, opening English ID to station announcements. News at 0302. Program at 0315 about government policies in Southern Sudan. Mon-Fri only. Poor to fair with adjacent channel splatter. (Brian Alexander, PA)

South Africa 15675, Southern Sudan Interactive Radio Instruction, via Meyerton, *1400-1429*, Nov 24, ID. English language lesson about how to ask about members of the family. Doorbell sound between lessons. Good signal. Tues, Thur, Sat only. NOT // 15390. Different English language lesson on 15390. (Brian Alexander, PA)

USA/Hawaii9930, KWHR, 1100-1105, Nov 25 (Sun.), in English, Norma Bonds religious program, fair. Checking to see if Open Radio North Korea (ORNK) ever added their weekend schedule, as was mentioned back in June. Website http://www.nkradio.com/eng/sub.html?s=2_2 continues to shows ORNK still on from Monday to Friday, 8 PM - 9 PM [Pyongyang Standard Time] [11 UT - 12 UT] on 9930. Why the long delay in implementing a weekend schedule? (Ron Howard, CA)

9265.04, WMLK, Bethal, PA, 1929-1932*, Nov 23, Just caught the end of their transmission with IDs & their usual theme music to sign off. Fairly good audio. Sign off was a little earlier than usual. I believe sign off is usually around 2000-2100. (Brian Alexander, PA)

Zanzibar11735, Radio Tanzania-Zanzibar, 1759-1809, Nov 23, drums at 1759. Time pips, "Spice FM" ID and English news at 1800- 1808. Back to Swahili at 1808. Good. (Brian Alexander, PA)